Related News and Opinion

7th Circuit Court of AppealsUnited
States of America v. Lincoln Plowman
11-3781
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Larry J. McKinney.
Criminal. Affirms Plowman’s convictions of federal funds bribery and attempted extortion under color of official right.
The District Court did not err when it precluded him from arguing entrapment to the jury.

Shane
A. Holloway v. Delaware County Sheriff, in his official capacity, et al.
http://media.ibj.com/Lawyer/websites/opinions/index.php?pdf=2012/november/ND0NZ09G.pdf
12-2592
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson.
Civil. Affirms summary judgment for the defendants on Holloway’s lawsuit alleging the sheriff violated his rights by
detaining him without charges for nine days and that the jail physician and two of his attending nurses violated his constitutional
rights by acting with deliberate indifference as to his serious medical condition. Based on the evidence, no reasonable jury
could have concluded the doctor acted with deliberate indifference, the nurses could not prescribe medicine on their own,
and Holloway can’t demonstrate that the sheriff’s actions violated due process or that the sheriff acted pursuant
to an unconstitutional policy or custom.

Indiana Court of AppealsDennis Vermillion v. State of Indiana
13A01-1201-CR-17
Criminal. Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded for resentencing. The COA ruled Vermillion’s convictions
do not violate double jeopardy and while the admission of prior-misconduct evidence was an error, it did not constitute a
fundamental error. Also, the court concluded the trial court acted within its discretion in ordering Vermillion to serve consecutive
sentences. However, it did find Vermillion’s total sentence exceeds the cap permitted by the Indiana Code section 35-50-1-2(c).

Richard Troy Dunno v. Ronalee Rasmussen
02A03-1207-PO-310
Protective order. Reverses trial court’s judgment ordering Dunno to pay Rasmussen’s attorney fees when she contested
a protective order that Dunno had been granted against her on the allegation that she hit him with a vodka bottle, resulting
in 18 stitches. The COA held that the trial court abused its discretion in awarding attorney fees to Rasmussen when she presented
evidence at a hearing Dunno didn’t attend saying that she wasn’t the aggressor. The court held that awarding of
fees was an abuse of discretion because the trial court cited no statutory authority under which the award could be made.

Paulette Petkovich, et al. v. Prime Contractors Co., Inc. (NFP)
64A03-1203-MF-102
Mortgage Foreclosure. Affirms in part, reserves in part, and remands. The COA affirms the award of attorney’s fees
to Prime Contractors; but reverses and remands the trial court’s judgment in setting the priority of the various liens
on the home.

Ivan Calderon v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A04-1202-CR-88
Criminal. Affirms conviction of disarming a law enforcement officer as a Class C felony, pointing a firearm as a Class D
felony, resisting law enforcement as a Class D felony, possession of marijuana as a Class A misdemeanor, and carrying a handgun
without a license as a Class A misdemeanor. Finds trial court did not commit a fundamental error when it admitted the evidence
seized from Calderon.

Washaun Jones v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1204-CR-342
Criminal. Reverse and remands with instructions to vacate trial court’s order regarding the denial of Jones’s
credit time for bad behavior and to correct the abstract of judgment so it reflects that Jones was convicted of dealing in
cocaine as a Class B felony.

Todd Baker and Susan Baker v. Marathon Pipe Line, LLC (NFP)
87A01-1204-PL-156
Civil Plenary. Affirms denial of Bakers’ motion to correct error on the issue of whether their amended counterclaim
for malicious prosecution was properly dismissed and of their motion to file a second amended counterclaim on the malicious
prosecution and attorney fees issues.